Holy crap!  The true mastermind behind DC’s huge event BLACKEST NIGHT has been revealed and, if you’re a long time Green Lantern fan, it probably won’t come as much of a surprise, but it is a pretty cool reveal.  To avoid spoilers, I’m going to show the reveal after the jump!

However, what I can show here is that, instead of a bunch more mini series starting in November, we’re looking at Blackest Night crossing into a whole slew of DC’s titles, including Adventure Comics, Booster Gold, Justice League of America, Superman/Batman, and more!  So much for that promise that BLACKEST NIGHT would be self contained to a select few mini’s and the main titles.  Either way, some of these tie ins seem pretty cool – the one I’m most excite about is Superman/Batman oddly, but mostly because of superstar artist Scott Kolins, following his run on Solomon Grundy, will be doing both writing and art chores!

Check out the full list of tie-ins at IGN, and the reveal of the main villain behind BLACKEST NIGHT after the jump!  MAJOR SPOILERS!  I’m not kidding!

The cover to BLACKEST NIGHT #5 reveals the mastermind behind the event to be none other than NEKRON, who initially premiered in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #2 (from 1981).  Don’t know who NEKRON is?  Here’s a refresher, courtesy of Nekron’s Wikipedia page.

Nekron is the ruler of a region adjoining Hell, and which also seems to border on Limbo and Purgatory. It is where the souls of the dead await passage to their final residences in either the Silver City, or the Hell. Nekron draws his power from the souls and spirits of all who have ever died.

Kyle Rayner briefly encountered Nekron in Green Lantern Annual #7, in which Nekron nearly reentered our universe and briefly resurrected the entirety of the deceased Green Lantern Corps members with rings powered by death. Kyle was able to push Nekron back into his dimension and re-seal the rift.

Check out an interview with Geoff Johns at IGN!